Advice Centre
In-car Technology - Buyer's Guides
Why Go To Halfords
Not everyone is confident with new technology and it can be confusing when new products come on to the market. It's not always clear whether they have new functions or just new branding. At Halfords we don´t try to baffle. We want you to leave the store feeling confident that you have the product that suits your lifestyle and budget.
And if you like to try something new then come into store and speak to our audio specialists. They will love to share their enthusiasm with you.
Expert Advice and Helpful Demos
We cover everything from top brand radio/CD players through to MP3 players and iPod connectivity. Plus with expert advice and helpful demonstrations, we're your first choice.
A Professional Fitting Service
With over 20 years of fitting service - we are the fitting experts. We can offer you a professional service from staff trained to Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) standards.
No Job Too Complex
When it comes to stereos we are able to fit 95% of cars with a new stereo. Even factory fitted stereos can be updated with a new model. Our experienced fitters use fascias adaptors to ensure a professional finish.
Audio Basics
In a nutshell, we still sell the more traditional systems like stereos and CD players.
But we also sell iPodS, MP3 players, DVD players and accessories such as chargers and cables.
These products enable you to store and play your music, movies, TV shows, videos, audio books, podcasts and photo slideshows.
Stereos
A traditional stereo system has a main head unit fixed in the dashboard of the car, with speakers attached. This would include a radio and cassette/CD player.
However, now this head unit could be used to house a DVD or sat nav, or the speakers could be shared by the sat nav, MP3 player and so on.
DVD Players
We now sell DVD players that you can fit in the dash or others that fit in the back of the car for your back seat passengers to enjoy. Definitely something to keep the children amused on a long journey!
About MP3 And MP4
Music and video has never been so manageable with MP3 and MP4.
What Is MP3?
MP3 is a type of digital audio file. It is used to store music and sound. The file is compressed, making it easier to download from the internet or to store more tracks using less space.
What Is An MP3 Player?
An MP3 player is a pocket-sized electronic device which you can use to store MP3 files and play back your music and other sound files. They have become very popular because they are so portable and you can listen to your music anywhere, anytime. Sometimes they are called personal MP3 players for this reason.
Types Of MP3 Players
They vary in the amount of music you can store. When deciding which one to buy, think about the size of your music collection and whether you want to listen to music at home , in the car, or on the move, perhaps in the gym? Our audio specialists can help you decide.
As a rough guide, 1 gigabyte (GB) gives you about 250 songs.
Additional MP3 Features
You can have a portable MP3 player and use it on foot, or in the car using a mounting bracket on the dashboard.
A few of the hard drive players include a small screen that can display pictures and video that are stored on the internal drive. Other players allow for digital voice recording for future playback.
What Is MP4?
MP4 is a type of digital audio and video file. It is used to store music, sound and video. The file is compressed, making it easier to download from the internet. It's basically the same thing as an MP3 except it's for video too.
About iPods
Compact and portable - that's an iPod.
What Is An iPod?
An iPod is like an MP3 player. It is a pocket-sized electronic device which you can use to play back your music and other sound files. However, it was designed by Apple Computer to work with AAC compression files as well as MP3 files.
iPods have distinctive styling and can hold anything up to tens of thousands of songs.
Types of iPods
They vary in size with the largest capacity being 160 GB but even the largest ones are very compact. They are particularly easy to use when downloading songs from the internet.
You can enjoy your iPod on the move or in the car, using a mounting bracket on the dashboard.
Exciting New Features
What is so exciting now, is the way you can link types of functionality so that one product can do multiple things, and that´s what we´ll enjoy showing you at Halfords.
Here are a few examples:
Calling And Listening At The Same Time
Now you can combine music streaming with mobile hands-free calling to your in-car audio system. You can connect and integrate your music and phone functions simultaneously and wirelessly through your car speakers using Bluetooth® technology. You can make and receive calls whilst listening to your favourite tracks from another source at the same time.
Take Your iPod Tracks As You Tour
iPod users can buy a dedicated receiver providing full speed connection and seamless control of all iPod models with the dock connector included. Easy to use, you can browse your iPod music by artist, song, playlist, album, genre, podcast, audiobook or composer. Take a look at the Alpine iDA-X300HAL.
Music To Your Ears
If you love music, then you´ll love to have a Bluetooth CD radio with direct iPod connection and iPhone compatibility and full control through your car stereo. Music can also be fed through from your mobile or portable device wirelessly through car speakers, using Bluetooth music streaming.
Audio Contact Lists
What´s more, you can also store contacts, browse the list on the car stereo's screen and listen to the gadget speak the names in the phonebook. It also has high quality sound recognition for voice dialing.
